Booker T Comments On Effect Cody Rhodes May Have On WWE's Product
During the latest Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed the momentum WWE has coming out of WrestleMania 38.
The Hall of Famer hopes the company can sustain that, and he thinks Cody Rhodes could be a catalyst for some change.
"I just hope it is something we can sustain going forward," he said. "I really think that somebody we are going to be talking about later on in the show is going to spark that change. That person is Cody Rhodes. I just believe the company may be going in a different direction, just because of the format that I saw on this show."
The two-time Hall Of Famer enjoyed the cinematic production of Rhodes' return to WWE. He believes it made him look like a superstar from the moment he rose up in Texas this past weekend.
"I liked the intro too, the slow rise, that was really, really cool. The cinematic production, it felt big, it felt like a superstar was walking out of the curtain. I think that's the difference with Cody Rhodes now, being back in the WWE," Booker T said. "Walking out of that curtain, and making that walk down that aisle, I am sure he felt like a superstar. I am sure he felt like this was something very, very special, something he hadn't been a part of in quite some time."
Booker T also praised the match between Cody and Seth Rollins. For him, it was what wrestling is all about, with the two men going back and forth throughout. He pointed out it isn't a negative on AEW's style, but that they were simply simulating life at WrestleMania.
"It reminded me of what wrestling is, it really did," he claimed. "I am trying not to take anything away from anybody out there. I am just going to say AEW, I am not saying anything negative about AEW. Because I feel talent like The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, guys like that have brought a different style to wrestling, the Kenny Omegas.
"It's different, it's a different style of wrestling that they are trying to get people to buy into. I get it, I understand that. But when I saw Cody and Seth go out and do it, it was nothing but two guys going out there simulating life. But still not forgetting that it's professional wrestling, such as the seriousness of the match, everything going back and forth."
During the match, Rhodes paid tribute to his father by hitting the Bionic Elbow, which popped the crowd. That was a moment that Booker T claimed you could feel inside the stadium.
"Then the flip-flop, and fly, the elbow," he said. "Which was literally nothing, but it brought the nostalgia of Dusty Rhodes into the arena. And the arena felt it immediately. Those liddle biddy things right there, along with everything else that those guys did, it meant everything. I went, 'wow,' I swear, I went, 'wow.' It was truly what wrestling has always been to me, two guys going out there and giving fans that ultimate thrill ride."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Hall Of Fame podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.